


Break

by A Small World (Datawolf39)



Series: Start of Something Small [11]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, CG!Katara, Gen, Little!Zuko, Non-Sexual Age Play, Oh gosh that tag makes me happy, Plush toy, Zuko is a workaholic, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, Zuko needs a break, and i am delighted to finally use it, katara is a mom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-08-19
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:08:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25984894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Datawolf39/pseuds/A%20Small%20World
Summary: It all starts with a turtleduck plushie
Relationships: Katara & Zuko (Avatar)
Series: Start of Something Small [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1037940
Comments: 19
Kudos: 259





	1. Gift

**Author's Note:**

> figures my first fic in this fandom would be a agre for Zuko.

When Zuko woke he could tell without opening his eyes that he was in his room, but he couldn’t actually remember falling asleep.

When was the last time he had slept? It really wasn’t his fault that he couldn’t remember, not that any of his friends would see it that way since they were an incurable group of worriers (and he didn't laugh at that pun, he wasn't Sokka, so he was above laughing at such puns). He had to run a nation though, one which could crumble because of its own fragility the moment he turned away, and he couldn’t bear the thought of that. Well usually that was the case, but at the moment that didn’t seem the matter. He had just woken up, but all he wanted to do was sleep for a year or ten. Surely, if he had let himself rest, things must have been okay right? Surely he could sleep for a while longer and nothing bad would happen as a result.

“No, you can’t sleep again just yet, I need you to open your eyes for me,” a voice said, somehow knowing that he was awake even though he had not given any outward sign of the fact.

Zuko groaned, clearly someone needed something from him, and as much as he would love to ignore it, he was the Fire Lord now, and he really didn’t have that luxury.

“Shhhh,” the voice hushed.

He opened his eyes, and was hit with blue. “Katara?” he asked. His voice was raspy, and his throat was unbearably dry. Was he sick?

“It’s alright,” she said soothingly. “Here, let me help you drink this.” 

The water was cool, and brought to his attention the fact that he felt as though he were currently roasting in an oven. 

“You collapsed. You ignored everyone telling you to take a break, and eventually, your body gave out on you after a long meeting.”

Zuko winced. Her words were straight to the point, leaving no room for misunderstanding, but it was the disappointment he could feel behind the words that made him feel sick with guilt. “Sorry,” he whispered, unable to stop the way his voice broke on the word. Shame rose in him, and he had to look away from her, needing to hide the vulnerability within himself.

“Zuko, I’m not mad at you, I am just very worried about you. You are my friend, and I don’t want to see you needlessly pushing yourself so hard your body gives out on you. You won’t do anyone any good if you kill yourself trying to fix decades of damage overnight.”

Her words make it hard to breathe, and he finds struggling avert tears. What was wrong with him? Was he truly so fragile that the utterance of friendship would cause him to bawl like an infant?

Suddenly, Katara is laying beside him in the bed, cuddling him in a way that feels all encompassing and yet puts no strain on him . “It’s okay, just rest for now, and we can talk later.”

Zuko nods, and thankfully sleep manages to claim him again.

~

The next time that he wakes up, he feels better, and he figures that he has rested long enough, and should probably get started on some kind of paperwork or something. 

“Don’t you dare.”

Zuko jumps, and shifts so that he could see behind him on the bed. “What are you doing here, Aang?" he questions. 

“It’s my shift with you.”

“I don’t need a watcher,” Zuko complained.

“You were planning on working just now weren’t you?”

“N-no,” he stutters, and blushes because it’s very clear that he is lying. When had he become so easy to read?

Aang rolls his eyes, and suddenly brightens. “I got you something,” he says with such an outrageous amount of glee that Zuko is immediately on edge. 

A package rises into the air, and lands on Zuko’s stomach. He gazes at Aang, and then sighs, and opens it. He blinks. “Why?”

“It’s a turtleduck, and I know you like them,” Aang says like that explains anything.

“It’s a plush toy,” Zuko says.

Aang seems sad now. “I can take it back if you don’t like it,” he says reaching for the toy.

Of their own accord, his hands pulled the toy away from Aang, and Zuko blushed. “I never said I didn’t like it,” he says. Really he shouldn’t be attached, but it was a turtleduck! 

“You already named it didn’t you?”

“N-no,” he stutters, and with that he shuts his eyes, and falls asleep to the soundtrack of Aang’s laughter.


	2. Anchor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It may be a toy but it means a lot to Zuko

He doesn't mean for it to happen, but the turtleduck plush toy becomes an anchor for him. It gives him a calming sense of peace on the most awful days because it is physical proof that even when his friends are away from him, something that is unfortunately necessary considering the current state of the world, they still care about him. It is proof positive that he has made the journey and come out on the other side, if not a good person, at least a better one. Really, becoming attached had been inevitable, and not only because he loved turtleducks. It was also because the toy spoke to a desire that had originated so long ago it had practically always been a part of him. Something that, before he had decided to help Aang and the others, he had only truly received from Uncle, and that was, acceptance. 

There is also an even more practical reason, one that many had actually taken notice of, and that is the fact that the toy made it so much easier to sleep peacefully. Nightmares came less frequently and his worries seem to disappear long enough for him to get a decent amount of rest.

That had started on a particularly bad night where he had dreamed about the endless burning agony of receiving the scar on his face. He had lept from the bed, and began to work, which was the best cure he had found for nightmares. Then while rooting around a drawer for a scroll, his hands had landed on the plush toy and he had pulled it out of its hiding space. The toy had absorbed his tears, not judging him for them, and exhausted, yet fearing further nightmares, he had taken the plush to bed with him for the first time.

After that, when he was sure he was finally alone at night, he hugged the toy close to his chest and smiled. 

Honestly he can't remember the last time he had a plush toy. Childhood had officially ended for him around the time his mother had left, and a great deal had been stolen from him even before then, not that he had been aware of it at the time, so just knowing the plush is there, sends him back to a better time. A time where he was innocent enough to believe that everything could remain as happy as he perceived it to be.

He doesn't realize how attached he is to the plush until he returns to his room after a meeting full of verbose advisors who wanted nothing more than to continue burning the world, and it is gone. 

Zuko tries not to panic as he frantically checks the room, when his search proves fruitless, panic makes his chest tighten and his throat clog, but he pushes the feeling away when he remembers where he last had his plush. He had been hurrying to a meeting about grain distribution, and he had left it on his bed, tangled within the sheets. Normally, he was more careful to hide the toy after he woke up, not wanting anyone to find it and get the wrong idea, but the meeting was very important, and he had already been behind schedule.

His face shows no emotion when he opens his door. Thankfully, he recognizes the servant who is standing there.

"Mei, who cleaned my room this morning?"

Mei freezes at the icy tone of his voice. The servants had come to see the new Fire Lord as the slightly awkward teen he actually was since he didn't tend to keep up the professional persona outside of state functions. It wasn’t really feasible considering how often his friends visited, and how wild they were together, but right now he looked scary because his face, normally so expressive even with the scar, was blank in a way that spoke of caged anger. He had never looked more like his father. "It… was Aiko, my lord."

"Take me to her," he demands.

The walk is tense and Mei fears for Aiko's safety. What had the girl done to earn such ire from the kindest Fire Lord the nation had ever known?

They find her in the hall near the kitchen and the Fire Lord pulls her into a nearby supply room. "Do not allow anyone inside,” he orders Mei. 

Mei nods quickly, and trades a worried glance with her coworker. "Yes my lord." The door is shut and Mei prays for Aiko to be safe.

~

"You cleaned my room this morning?" Zuko asks once they are far enough away from the door, he was trying, and admittedly, failing, to suppress the emotions he is feeling.

Aiko nods, fear rolling off of her in nearly tangible waves. 

"There was a plush toy on the bed… it was a present. Where is s- it?"

"It was… dirty my lord, so I-."

"You threw her away?" He questions in a whisper, unable to completely hide the terror in his voice. Gone, she was gone, she had left him just like mama had. He needed to leave. He can't break here, and he is going to, he can feel it. 

"Go, leave me!" he ordered, hating the way his voice broke on the words. If only… wait… he grabs her arm before she can retreat. "Send Katara to me," he orders, and then once he is alone he bars the door and slides down against it. 

"Tutu," he whimpers. He has to push down another shameful sob. it was just a toy, he tries to convince himself, there were probably a thousand others just like it, but...

Eons seem to elapse, before there is a knock on the door. He hopes that he looks somewhat presentable, because he feels awful. "Zuko, it's me," Katara says softly, just loud enough to be heard through the door.

He opens the door, pulls her in and shuts it again in the space of five seconds. Her bright blue eyes take him in, and her embrace is so warm and safe that he finally gives in to the tears. "She threw Tutu away. Tara, she's gone forever," he sobs. He can't help it. The pain is simply too much for him to bear, especially when he feels so safe.

"Tutu?"

"My plushie turtleduck. "

"Did she look like this?"

Zuko pulls back a bit to see Katara holding Tutu the turtleduck. He can't believe it.

"Tutu!" He cries, grabbing the plushie and hugging her tightly to his chest. "How Tara?"

"Aiko had taken her to be washed, Zuko. You didn't give her the chance to say so before you sent her away."

"I wasn't trying to be mean," he whimpers. 

"I know. You were just worried, right?"

Zuko nodded. "And sleepy," he adds rubbing his good eye with the hand not clutching his turtleduck.

"Alright. Let's make a deal. You apologize to Mei and Aiko for scaring them so badly, and I’ll tuck you and Tutu in tonight. Does that sound like a good idea?”

Zuko nods. “Story too?”

Katara smiles. “Of course,” she agrees. 

Zuko tucks Tutu away in his robes, and takes a deep breath. Then he opens the door. The two women are still there, and he finds it hard to meet their gaze now that he isn’t consumed with panic. He bows, and when he gazes at them they seemed to have been stunned by the action. “I apologize for how I acted, it was a gift, so it is very special to me, but... even so, I shouldn’t have acted like I did.”

“It’s quite alright, I’m sorry as well. I should not have moved your personal possessions without permission, my lord,” Aiko said. 

“I accept your apology as well, my lord” Mei said.

Zuko might have said more, but he was completely drained now. 

“Come on Zuko, I think it’s past your bedtime,” Katara teased.

“Fire Lord’s don't have a bedtime,” Zuko murmurs. 

Aiko and Mei gaze fondly at the pair until they are out of sight, and once gaze at one another sees twin resolve born. No one else would ever learn of this. Some would perceive it to be a weakness, and plot to use it against him. So just as he had protected them from nobles that saw no harm in abusing servants, they would protect their Fire Lord from those that wished to harm him.

~

When they get to his room, Zuko rescued Tutu from his robes, and falls onto the bed. Katara, always one to keep a promise, tucks him in, and sits next to him on the bed. “What story would you like to hear?” she asks.

Zuko blinks slowly, and starts to rub the nail of his thumb across his bottom lip. “Make one up please?” he suggests timidly.

“What a lovely idea. Hmmm, let’s see… once upon a time there was a lonely turtleduck named... Zeke. He had gotten separated from his mother in a big crowd, and he didn’t know how to get back home.”

“Poor turtledukie,” Zuko said, holding on to Tutu a little tighter.

“Zeke decided to ask for directions. He looked around, and found two young otter penguins. They didn’t know the way back to his pond, but they told him that they would help him find someone that did.”

“Who did they go find?” Zuko asks. Then he yawns, and shakes his head in an effort to stay awake.

“Well they guided him to a winged lemur that liked to fly over the land, and he knew where the pond was. The only problem was that he couldn’t fly because he had gotten hurt during a sparring match with a badgermole, but…” Katara trailed off when she saw that Zuko had finally given in and fallen asleep. He must have been truly exhausted if a story like that was enough to lull him into slumber, because he hadn’t seemed bored with the tale.

As she watched him, she thought about the events that had led up to this moment. Zuko had been panicking in the room, and during the story he had been so sweet all snuggled up with a plush turtleduck. Even when he had apologized his words had seemed overly simple. This was clearly not the side Zuko that she had gotten to know since he had joined their group with his awkward little speech. 

He seemed younger somehow, and had been more willing to follow her lead, just like a child she realized, with that everything slotted into place. Like so many children born during the war, Zuko had been robbed of an actual childhood, and the more she learned about that, the worse she hates his father. She sometimes wonders what Zuko would have been like without Ozai’s influence, and then shakes away the thought, the what if’s didn’t matter, and never helped anything. Right now what was important was that Zuko trusted her not to use this against him. Oh, when he woke up he would, no doubt, be embarrassed, and he would try to avoid her like the awkward turtleduck he was, but eventually he would come to terms with it, and should he chose to seek her out to care for him again, she would be more than happy to help.


End file.
